The ''dikaiodotes'' ( el, δικαιοδότης, "giver of the laws") was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

judicial office attested in the 11th–12th centuries. The title existed already since antiquity in the non-technical sense of "dispenser of the laws". The title acquired a technical sense probably under

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

: in 1094, the ''dikaiodotes'' is attested as a distinct office, presiding over one of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

's main tribunals in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Its exact duties are unknown, but the office was among the most important in the civil administration during its existence. Its holders often held it in tandem with other titles, including the prestigious position of ''

kanikleios The ( el, κανίκλειος), more formally or ( el, �αρτουλάριοςἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου) was one of the most senior offices in the Byzantine imperial chancery.. Its holder was the keeper of the imperial inkstand, th ...

'' (keeper of the imperial inkstand). Its last holder, the ''

sebastos ( grc-gre, σεβαστός, sebastós, venerable one, Augustus, ; plural , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th-ce ...

'' Michael Belissariotes, is attested in 1197.

References

Sources

* {{cite book, editor-last=Kazhdan, editor-first=Alexander, editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan, title=

The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzant ...

, location=New York and Oxford, publisher=Oxford University Press, year=1991, isbn=978-0-19-504652-6, ref={{harvid, ODB Byzantine judicial offices Constantinople 12th century in the Byzantine Empire